Your Heart on the Line
by capedandcrusaded
Summary: It's her senior year of high school, and Nikki Muller can't seem to get over Embry Call. It's been a year, but when you're in a relationship with someone for over two years, it's not something that is easily shaken off. And just when she finds herself over him, he's back in her life.


The ride home was quiet. I don't remember the last time it was quiet. Two years…two years, and this is what I get. An empty, quiet car ride and an even emptier heart. When I get home, I wander upstairs. I have no conscious thoughts. I don't know what is happening, and I don't know what to do. All I want to do is fall asleep. I don't want to go to school tomorrow, and I definitely don't want to see his face. I wish that there was a way to escape this. This sadness, this depression, this pain. Would I feel like this forever? Would the pain ever end? Or would I just get used to it, until it numbed completely? I wish that there was a way to end this pain permanently…

But I can end the pain temporarily, if only just for the night. I take some nighttime cold medicine, and before long, I'm drifting to sleep…a numb, easy sleep. One where, just for eight hours, I can forget everything.

One Year Later:

"Yo, Nix!" I hear from down the hall.

"SMALLS!" I yell back, watching my best friend run (yes, run) towards me. Rachelle grins when she reaches me and I high five her.

"How you doin', girl?" she asks, looking up at me. Rachelle is only 5'0, hence her nickname.

"I'm good, just survivin'. The usual," I reply, grabbing my books from my locker.

"You're rocking that uniform today," she tells me, "And that's saying something…coming from me and my perpetual hotness…" I smack her arm lightly and laugh.

"Now, now, don't get cocky, Miss Maine," I tell her, "But thank you," I add as I smooth down my uniform. Alright, so I'm a cheerleader.

"Anytime, Captain Nix," Rachelle says, laughing. Alright, so I'm captain of the cheerleading team. And I get that people assume that I'm a preppy, shallow, evil bitch. But I like to think that I'm down-to-earth, friendly, and legitimately happy. Not that fake-happy that most girls are…I'm the real thing. My full name is Nikki Muller, but everyone calls me Nix. I'm about 5'8, average size, with curly black hair and dark brown eyes. My skin is dark compared to most people, but normal compared to everyone else that lives on the Quileute reservation in La Push, Washington. I was born and raised here, so La Push is all I really know.

"Nix, we're gonna be late for Psychology," Rachelle reminds me. I snap out of my reverie, close my locker, and walk with her towards our first period. Rachelle has been my best friend for years, and is always by my side. She's constantly looking out for me, especially when it comes to…him.

"Smalls, have you seen…you know who lately?" I ask, nervously.

"No, I haven't," Rachelle replied, shaking her head, "He's been gone for about two weeks. I don't know where though. There's talk of him getting in Sam Uley's gang." Part of me starts to get worried. Part of me says 'No…not him.' But I stop myself. I can't do this to myself anymore.

"Huh. Well, maybe it'll be good for him," I reply shortly. Rachelle nods; she knows that it's unwise to bug me when it comes to talking about him. Right before we get to our class, we hear shouts. Catcalls. Whistles. Gasps. Sounds that usually aren't heard at our school. We've all grown up together, so there's usually no one new. Unless…unless there are new members. Of the Uley Gang, that is. Every once in a while, a guy will disappear from school for a week or two. And when he comes back, he's different. Taller; more muscular; and with noticeably shorter hair. And after then, he's with Sam Uley. It started about a year ago, when Paul disappeared. He was the first. And then they just started following. And now, it looked like there was another new member.

"Nikki, Nikki!" Rachelle said, shaking my arm, "Do you want to go into the classroom?" I didn't answer her; I just stared at the crowd. I saw his head, the side of his face. As soon as he turned, I did, too. I ran into my class, with Rachelle right behind me.

"Nikki. Honey. Are you okay?" Rachelle asked me, looking at me sympathetically. I nodded my head.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?" I answered shakily.

"Because you haven't seen E-I mean, him, in a while. And I know what it does to you."

"Rachelle," I said firmly, "I am fine. Don't worry about it." She nodded, and sat down next to me. I could hear the voices getting closer; I could hear him, talking loudly. And the girls surrounding him. I could hear them, too.

"Embry, Embry," one cooed, "You look very…nice today."

"Damn, Em," said another, "You're lookin' hot today!" Luckily, I didn't hear any of the other cheerleader's out there. They knew better. Finally, our teacher walked in, shut the door, and started the lesson. I try to do well in school, so that I can get a good college scholarship. I spent the rest of the day tuning out the chatter about Embry, instead turning my attention to my schoolwork and preparing for that night's game. Afterschool, Rachelle and I, along with some of the other cheerleaders, went to the local diner for some food before the game. At LPHS, I spent most of my time with Rachelle, Kaylee, Jordan, Renee, and Jess. The six of us grabbed a booth, and each ordered a small salad, a milkshake, and a large plate of fries to share. That was our usual; a salad for health, a milkshake for fun, and fries for friendship. As we dug into our food, I heard the door to the diner open. I saw some of the girls look over, and knew just by Rachelle's expression who it was.

"Nix…" Rachelle started.

"Smalls, I got it," I told her, smiling, "This is a diner, and it's only to be expected that he would be here." She nodded and went back to her salad. I know that I played it off like it was nothing, but it really did bug me that he was here. Especially…with everything. After we finished eating, we left the diner and headed back to the school. Usually before a game, all of the cheerleaders sit in a circle on the field, and the captain gives a pep talk. It's actually one of my favorite parts of being captain. When we got to the school, most of the cheerleaders were sitting already, and within ten minutes, everyone was there.

"Alright, Wolves," I said, standing in the center of the circle, "We have to rock it tonight. Everyone, do your best, stay on your toes, keep your chin up. For those of us that are seniors, these are some of our last games. So don't dwell on the dark and the sad; focus on the positive and do a toe touch like you've never done a toe touch before!" At the end, everyone started clapping and howling (which I know sounds cheesy, but as the 'Wolves', we need some sort of calling card…). People were starting to crowd the stands now, so we got into our formation.

The first half of the game went flawlessly, with all of the girls knowing their chants and moves perfectly. I usually never stress about the in-game chants; I focus on the halftime show. For us, it's kind of a big deal. There are little girls out there, watching us in awe. And it's them that I don't want to disappoint. Luckily, we pull ours off without a hitch, and we're left to spend the second half of halftime doing what we want. I see my parents in the stands and run over to them.

"Nikki, sweetie, you did so well!" My mom says, hugging me tightly, while my dad pats me on the back.

"We're so proud of you, baby girl," He comments, smiling. I sit with them until I have to go back, since I really can't eat any of the concession food. My parents have always been supportive of me, and I love them dearly because of it. I mean, they go to every football game. Not to watch the actual game, but to watch the cheerleaders. They know how important this is to me, and they're there with me for every step of the way.

The second half of the game goes great as well. LPHS wins by 14 points, which means that the celebration tonight will be epic. After I say goodbye to my parents, and everyone else has left to go to a party at Renee's house, I climb up to the announcer's box. I do this after every game, because it gives me a time to reflect. I sit in front of the window, just staring out at the field. Yeah, I'll go to the party later, but this is my time right now. As I'm thinking over our performance tonight, I notice a figure stumble onto the field. He kind of crumbles towards the ground, as if he's in pain. As I contemplate going to help him, I notice three guys walk out onto the field and grab him. At this point, the guy is writhing in pain. The three guys holding him don't seem to struggle at all. They just pick him up and move him off the field and drag him into the forest. I didn't really recognize any of the guys, but one of them kind of looked like…Embry.


End file.
